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Saturday, May 03, 2008
Fire in Manzano Mountains Burns Additional 50 Homes
Associated Press
MANZANO — Firefighters worked in cooler, calmer weather Saturday to clear lines around a blaze that has burned 59 homes and more than 21 square miles in central New Mexico's Manzano Mountains.
And in south-central New Mexico, firefighters battled a blaze that has burned an estimated 5,000 acres on the Mescalero Apache reservation.
Authorities on Saturday were able to confirm an additional 50 homes were burned by the human-caused Trigo Fire in the Manzanos, said Linda Peters, a fire information officer.
The homes — most of them an area called Sherwood Forest, five to six miles west of the Torreon — were torched Wednesday when the fire jumped containment lines.
The tally was conducted Friday and Saturday when the 13,790-acre fire had cooled enough in the area to allow authorities in, Peters said.
The blaze had been 95 percent contained at 4,500 acres before a spot fire flared on its north side Wednesday and gusts of more than 50 mph drove the flames about three miles to the northeast.
Crews used hand tools and bulldozers to slash lines around the fire as helicopters dropped loads of water on the flames Saturday.
Firefighters were concentrating on the northwest and west sides of the fire, said Peter D'Aquanni, a U.S. Forest Service public information officer.
"They're cutting some new lines, they're reinforcing lines, they're mopping up,'' he said.
Wind was calmer, temperatures were lower and humidity was up. "We're having favorable winds today and that's going to help our firefighting efforts,'' D'Aquanni said.
The fire, 35 percent contained, has been burning tinder-dry oak brush and pinon, juniper and mixed conifer trees on the east side of the Manzanos, where terrain varies from relatively flat lower areas to rugged higher country.
There were 462 people assigned to the fire, along with two heavy air tankers, five helicopters, 18 engines, nine water tenders and four bulldozers.
About 400 residents of Torreon, Tajique and the surrounding area at the foot of the Manzanos were asked to evacuate, but fire officials said some people have refused to leave.
The fire began April 15 in the Cibola National Forest. The blaze burned nine weekend or summer homes and several outbuildings a few days later.
Gov. Bill Richardson on Friday declared Torrance County a disaster area because of the damage from the Trigo Fire. The declaration makes emergency state funding available for firefighting efforts and to help provide emergency services.
Firefighters tackling the blaze on Mescalero Apache land were planning to bolster fire lines Saturday, said Jonetta Holt, a fire information officer.
However, some areas were too rugged to access so crews were building indirect fire lines and preparing to push back against the flames, she said.
Holt said the area is extremely dry and authorities are asking people to be careful.
Copyright ©2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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